Media release
18 September 2024
The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) welcomes the release today of the Productivity Commission’s final report of its inquiry into early childhood education and care, and acknowledges the extensive work and commitment of the Productivity Commission, led by Associate Commissioner Professor Emerita Deb Brennan AM, and Commissioners Martin Stokie and Lisa Gropp.
ELACCA CEO Elizabeth Death said that the long-term reform agenda provided by the Productivity Commission demonstrated that the opportunities and concerns highlighted by ELACCA and others in our sector had been heard, noting recommendations proposed by the Productivity Commission will help make quality early learning and care in Australia more inclusive, more accessible and more affordable.
From Brisbane, Ms Death commended the Productivity Commission on their final report, noting it offers a significant legacy to the Government. The report offers the opportunity to introduce a universal early learning entitlement for all Australian children, to access at least three days a week of high-quality early learning and care, and free for children of families earning $80,000 or less. Importantly, the report recognises that to be truly inclusive, children and families facing vulnerability or disadvantage should be given further support.
‘The priorities and recommendations set by the Productivity Commission provide us with an immediate pathway to an improved, universal offering for early learning and care in Australia’, Ms Death said. ‘ELACCA has long been advocating for the activity test to be abolished, to ensure that the families of children who have the most to gain from quality early learning and care, are not faced with unnecessary barriers.’
‘ELACCA strongly supports the child-first approach to policy and reform used by the Productivity Commission. We look forward to working closely with Government to inform how best it could be implemented, and sequenced,’ Ms Death said.
‘Effective and adequately funded inclusion support has been a significant issue for families and children requiring additional support, and for early learning and care services seeking to meet their needs. Every family, regardless of their level of social capital, should be able to access a seamless support net for their child,’ Ms Death said. ‘Access to inclusion support should not be determined by postcode, family background or capacity to navigate a system.’
ELACCA also welcomes a strong focus on the early learning and care workforce, on the back of recent commitment from the Albanese Government to invest in educator wages over the next two years. We know that access to tailored training options, mentoring and professional development will make a significant difference to the existing and future early learning and care workforce.
‘The economic and social value of early learning and care is widely understood, and Albanese Government’s recent commitment to wages investment helps demonstrate this,’ Ms Death said. ‘Valuing, growing and upskilling our dedicated workforce, including with clearer career pathways and professional recognition, will help the early learning and care system to continue to expand, and enable more children to thrive, and parents and carers to participate in work.’
ELACCA notes that trials of alternative funding model for early learning and care are proposed by the Productivity Commission, and we look forward to the opportunity to work closely with Government and our members to help inform what this might look like, to ensure we continue to build upon an innovative, affordable and high-quality early learning and care sector.
‘We look forward to working with Ministers Clare and Aly, the Department of Education and sector colleagues on responding to these proposed reforms over the months ahead, and into the future. ELACCA and our members are committed to a vision that every Australian child has access to high-quality early learning and care, delivered by a qualified, skilled and deeply valued workforce,’ Ms Death said.
Ends
For more information please contact:
Sally Maddison
Early Learning and Care Council of Australia
PO Box 348
Annandale NSW 2038
Mob: 0498 228 762
About us:
The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) was established to promote the value of quality early learning and care as an integral part of Australia’s education system. Our 18 CEO members include some of the largest early learning providers in the country, representing both not-for-profit and for-profit services. ELACCA members operate 2,017 long day care services, 320 preschool/kindergarten services and 88 OSHC services, covering every state and territory. They offer one-quarter of all the early learning places in Australia. Together, our members serve 232,978 children and their families, and employ more than 59,000 staff.
As well as promoting the value of quality early learning and the need for greater public investment, ELACCA advocates for the right of all children to access quality early learning and care, particularly children facing disadvantage. We do this by drawing on the knowledge and practical experience of our members and representing their views to decision makers in government, the media and the public.
